When the forces of intolerance rise up in bigotry and divisiveness, the voices of tolerance and inclusion must push back harder and louder. Every time.

On Thursday night, the voices of tolerance and inclusion did just that. Tarrant County GOP leadership overwhelmingly beat back an ugly, bigoted anti-Muslim campaign to remove Shahid Shafi as vice chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party. Or as Shafi so graciously put it: “Today, the beacon of liberty held by the Statue of Liberty is shining brighter. My faith in our party, in our country, has been reaffirmed.”

Score this a victory for decency. The intolerant internal fringe in the Tarrant GOP lost its effort to brand an entire party as one of ethnic and religious narrow-mindedness, and unlike those who opposed him, Shafi demonstrated a spirit of inclusiveness.

The trauma surgeon and Southlake city council member didn’t point fingers at his accusers. Nor did he display anger toward those who had waged a vile campaign of innuendo, claiming that he supports Shariah law and is tied to terrorist-affiliated groups, allegations without a shred of evidence, according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and Texas Observer.

Instead, Shafi embraced unity and the guiding principles of free people and free ideas symbolized by Lady Liberty and true conservatism. And, in contrast to his accusers, who stoked the flames of xenophobia for months as reported by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram and others, the party vote and Shafi’s gracious response signaled that this curse has no place in the Tarrant County GOP nor anywhere in American political discourse. The party vote to back Shafi reclaimed the moral high ground from those who would have driven the party to wade deeper into the muck and mire of small-minded intolerance.

We are pleased that prominent Republicans statewide, including Land Commissioner George P. Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz and Gov. Greg Abbott, spoke out against the injustice facing Shafi prior to the vote. Shafi didn’t deserve the disrespect lobbed his way but should be encouraged that voices of influence and reason within the GOP didn’t sit quietly. At times like this, GOP leaders statewide have an obligation to decry bigotry in all of its disrespectful and dangerous forms, and they did admirably.

The challenge ahead for the Tarrant GOP and the statewide party is to make sure that such fringe elements don’t hijack parts of the party or gain leverage to move debates their way. Shafi embodies many of the principles the party holds dear. He came to the U.S. in 1990, became a naturalized citizen and served in city government and party activities. The idea that some would use his religion and ethnicity as a litmus test to judge him unsuitable is a shameful affront to the principles that founded this nation.

In many ways this is an ugly chapter, but it’s also a chapter that now includes the courage and tenacity to fight back. The support that emerged for Shafi deserves praise and support.